That is the question that has been burning in my brain the past few days. A Series of Unfortunate Events has put me way behind on my preparations for NaNoWriMo. As I slowly get caught up and organized, I am wondering if I really want to voluntarily put more stress in my life. Today, two days before NaNo begins, I don't have the answer to that question, and that alone is stressing me to a point.
NaNoWriMo is intense, to say the least. I figure at the rate I write fiction, I will need to devote 4 hours every day, including weekends, to be successful at ending up with 50,000 words by November's end. Lately I haven't had the time or energy to spend 30 minutes or less writing this blog...so naturally I am having serious doubts about the whole deal.
So, here's what I am trying to convince myself: it will be OK if I fail. If I at least start, well...it's a start. If I don't start, if I don't go to the weekly write-ins, I'll have nothing but regret and probably guilt for being such a slacker, which in turn stress me. So I am going to be facing stress no matter which road I choose. Silly, huh? But that is the way that I roll.
As it stands now, I am signed in to my NaNo account. I plan to attend the kick off party at the library on Nov. 1 (this Friday already!). I'll do my best. And if I don't have my work finished by the end of the month, I'll have a good start on a worth-while winter project.
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch....
To make November run as smoothly as I can, I've been busy stocking up on food and stuffing the freezer with a lot of prep work (such as browned hamburger/onion for quick fix meals). Today I plan to set up a designated work area. I've also been exploring the capabilities of my Galaxy Tab, and in doing so realized that I can open a Word document, click on the microphone icon and the software types what I speak. Some of the text is funky, but easily fixed.
I found that I don't like to write using that method, it is easier to type on a keyboard or write longhand in a notebook because I can delete or cross out junk, or cut and paste the junk to places where it isn't exactly junk any longer. Where the tab will be a help is in typing up notes that I scribble in notebooks by simple dictation. Sort of like having a real-live Steno assistant. The only problem that I have so far is understanding how to save the Word file to the micro-SD card that is in the tablet so that I can transfer the info to my NaNo folder on the PC. It's a learning experience, but a good one.
The next project will be to find pics that resemble my characters and pin them on a bulletin board near my work space.
Even though I am making progress, I feel like a salmon swimming upstream, as I am sure most other WriMo's are feeling, too. The cards seem to stack up against us. But, well, who knows what we will spawn? I just don't want to die after my 'baby' is born!
Marcheta *alive and kicking
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